1 Kings 20 · Verse 1

1 Kings 20:1

And Ben–hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.
1 Kings 20:1, King James Version

1 Kings 20:1 in other translations

BSBNow Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
WEBBen Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
ASVAnd Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together; and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
YLTAnd Ben-Hadad king of Aram hath gathered all his force, and thirty and two kings are with him, and horse and chariot, and he goeth up and layeth siege against Samaria, and fighteth with it,
DARBYAnd Ben-Hadad king of Syria assembled all his host; and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
BBENow Ben-hadad, king of Aram, got all his army together, and thirty-two kings with him, and horses and carriages of war; he went up and made war on Samaria, shutting it in.
WebsterAnd Ben-hadad the king of Syria collected all his army: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.

What does 1 Kings 20:1 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
1Ki 20:1-12. Ben-hadad Besieges Samaria. 1. Ben-hadad the king of Syria--This monarch was the son of that Ben-hadad who, in the reign of Baasha, made a raid on the northern towns of Galilee (1Ki 15:20). The thirty-two kings that were confederate with him were probably tributary princes. The ancient kings of Syria and Phoenicia ruled only over a single city, and were independent of each other, except when one great city, as Damascus, acquired the ascendency, and even then they were allied only in time of war. The Syrian army encamped at the gates and besieged the town of Samaria.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Introduction

Ben-hadad, king of Syria, and thirty-two kings, besiege Samaria, 1Kgs 20:1. He sends an insulting message to Ahab; and insists on pillaging the whole city, 1Kgs 20:2-7. The elders of Israel counsel the king not to submit to such shameful conditions, 1Kgs 20:8. He sends a refusal to Ben-hadad; who, being enraged, vows revenge, 1Kgs 20:9-12. A prophet comes to Ahab, and promises him victory, and gives him directions how he should order the battle, 1Kgs 20:13-19. The Syrians are discomfited, and Ben-hadad scarcely escapes, 1Kgs 20:20, 1Kgs 20:21. The prophet warns Ahab to be on his guard, for the Syrians would return next year, 1Kgs 20:22. The counsellors of the king of Syria instruct him how he may successfully invade Israel, 1Kgs 20:23-25. He leads an immense army to Aphek, to fight with Ahab, 1Kgs 20:26, 1Kgs 20:27. A man of God encourages Ahab, who attacks the Syrians, and kills one hundred thousand of them, 1Kgs 20:28, 1Kgs 20:29. They retreat to Aphek, where twenty-seven thousand of them are slain by a casualty, 1Kgs 20:30. Ben-hadad and his courtiers, being closely besieged in Aphek, and unable to escape, surrender themselves with sackcloth on their loins, and halters on their heads; the king of Israel receives them in a friendly manner, and makes a covenant with Ben-hadad, 1Kgs 20:31-34. A prophet, by a symbolical action, shows him the impolicy of his conduct in permitting Ben-hadad to escape, and predicts his death and the slaughter of Israel, 1Kgs 20:35-43. Verse 1 Ben-hadad - Several MSS., and some early printed editions, have Ben-hadar, or the son of Hadar, as the Septuagint. He is supposed to be the same whom Asa stirred up against the king of Israel, 1Kgs 15:18; or, as others, his son or grandson. Thirty and two kings - Tributary chieftains of Syria and the adjacent countries. In former times every town and city had its independent chieftain. Both the Septuagint and Josephus place this war after the history of Naboth.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 20:1-11
Benhadad sent Ahab a very insolent demand. Ahab sent a very disgraceful submission; sin brings men into such straits, by putting them out of the Divine protection. If God do not rule us, our enemies shall: guilt dispirits men, and makes them cowards. Ahab became desperate. Men will part with their most pleasant things, those they most love, to save their lives; yet they lose their souls rather than part with any pleasure or interest to prevent it. Here is one of the wisest sayings that ever Ahab spake, and it is a good lesson to all. It is folly to boast of any day to come, since we know not what it may bring forth. Apply it to our spiritual conflicts. Peter fell by self-confidence. Happy is the man who is never off his watch.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

1 Kings 20:1 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וּבֶן\־u.ven-and BenH1130
הֲדַ֣דha.DadHadadH1130
מֶֽלֶךְ\־Me.lekh-[the] king ofH4428
אֲרָ֗ם'a.RamAramH758
קָבַץ֙ka.Vatzhe gatheredH6908
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
חֵיל֔וֹchei.Loarmy hisH2428
וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֨יםu.she.lo.Shimand thirtyH7970
וּשְׁנַ֥יִםu.she.Na.yimand twoH8147
מֶ֛לֶךְMe.lekhking[s]H4428
אִתּ֖וֹ'i.To[were] with himH854
וְס֣וּסve.Susand horse[s]H5483
וָרָ֑כֶבva.Ra.khevand chariotryH7393
וַיַּ֗עַלvai.Ya.'aland he went upH5927
וַיָּ֙צַר֙vai.Ya.tzarand he laid siegeH6696
עַל\־'al-onH5921
שֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹןsho.me.RonSamariaH8111
וַיִּלָּ֖חֶםvai.yi.La.chemand he foughtH3898
בָּֽהּ\׃Bahagainst it

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 20:1

  • 1 Kings 15:18

    Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben–hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,

  • 1 Kings 22:31

    But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.

  • 1 Kings 15:20

    So Ben–hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel–beth–maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.

  • Amos 1:4

    But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben–hadad.

  • Isaiah 37:24

    By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel.

  • 2 Kings 6:24-29

    And it came to pass after this, that Ben–hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver. And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? …

  • Exodus 14:7

    And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.

  • Ezekiel 26:7

    For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.

  • 1 Samuel 13:5

    And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth–aven.

  • Jeremiah 49:27

    And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben–hadad.

  • 1 Kings 20:24

    And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:

  • Isaiah 10:8

    For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1 Ben-hadad, not content with Ahab's homage, besieges Samaria.
13 By the direction of a prophet, the Syrians are slain.
22 As the prophet forewarned Ahab, the Syrians, trusting in the valleys, come against him in Aphek.
28 By the word of the prophet, and God's judgment, the Syrians are smitten again.
31 The Syrians submitting themselves, Ahab sends Ben-hadad away with a covenant.
35 The prophet, under the parable of a prisoner, making Ahab judge himself, denounces God's judgment against him.

A.M. 3103. B.C. 901. Ben-hadad.
15:18,20; 2Ki 8:7-10; 2Ch 16:2-4; Jer 49:27; Am 1:4
Thirty and two.
16,24; Ge 14:1-5; Jud 1:7; Ezr 7:12; Isa 10:8; Eze 26:7; Da 2:37
and horses.
Ex 14:7; De 20:1; Jud 4:3; 1Sa 13:5; Isa 37:24
besieged.
Le 26:25; De 28:52; 2Ki 6:24-29; 17:5,6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 20:1

    And Ben–hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.

  • 1 Kings 20:2

    And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben–hadad,

Read all of 1 Kings 20

1 Kings 20:1 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		ENTONCES Ben-adad rey de Siria juntó á todo su ejército, y con él treinta y dos reyes, con caballos y carros: y subió, y puso cerco á Samaria, y combatióla.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		*Et Ben-Hadad, roi de Syrie, rassembla toutes ses forces; et il y avait 32 rois avec lui, et des chevaux et des chars. Et il monta et assiégea Samarie, et lui fit la guerre.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Ben-Hadad, der König von Syrien, versammelte seine ganze Heeresmacht: 32 Könige waren mit ihm und Rosse und Wagen; und er zog herauf und belagerte Samaria und stritt wider dasselbe.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Porro Benadad rex Syriæ congregavit omnem exercitum suum, et triginta duos reges secum, et equos, et currus: et ascendens pugnabat contra Samariam, et obsidebat eam.